The Jumanji remake hires a writer to handle all that re-imagination

The "reimagined" Jumanji—just part of the “regular cycle of product introductions” currently being assembled in the Columbia Pictures warehouse, in between daydreams—has settled on a writer to handle the 1995 film’s refurbishing. The job goes to Zach Helm, whose familiarity with magical toys, man-children, and projects that are generally off-putting includes Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium. Incidentally, this is likely the only time you will see “From the writer who brought you Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium” connected with this film, so savor it. He owned an emporium, and his name was Magorium! Natalie Portman was in it for some reason! Anyway, Helm also wrote Stranger Than Fiction and did rewrites on Ben Stiller’s upcoming The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty, so he’s definitely familiar with flights of fancy—the same sort of imagination and whimsical caprice that has so inspired the executives at Columbia to just make Jumanji again, but with newer CGI.